Sioux City, Iowa
A diverse group of individuals participated in a conversation at the Sioux City Convention Center on Thursday night. Compelling stories, ideas and challenges were shared by this group of stakeholders.
A woman shared a story about her husband who had become very sick. He had the option to have surgery to cure the problem, but since they were small business owners and unable to afford insurance, the cost of the surgery was too expensive. Her husband opted not to go through with the surgery because he didn't want to burden his family with tremendous debt. He died without the surgery.
The group regularly emphasized the importance of wellness education, preventative health care and financial literacy.
One participant concluded that there is plenty of money in the United States, but there is a distribution problem with the money. How could money be redistributed so all people can have access to affordable health care?
Sioux Center, Iowa
A series of compelling stories started the conversation in Sioux Center. One attendee was uninsured and too young to draw Medicare, another recently lost her spouse and was living on his Social Security, and another attendee wants to retire, but does not have sufficient savings to do so. Others present worked in the health care and finance industries.
During recent conversations there has been talk about the health care system in Canada. Many rumors and impressions about the Canadian system have been thrown around, but few people have been exposed to the government run system. One participant at the Sioux Center conversation had lived in Canada for 17 years and just recently moved back to northwest Iowa. She indicated that the health care quality was equivalent to that of the United States. She also never had to wait in a long line for care, though she admitted not being subject to any major illnesses or injuries while in Canada.
The group agreed that increased financial literacy in schools and at home is important to focus on for the future. There was also agreement that a president should work with all sides (insurance, doctors, drug companies, business, etc.) to create real change to the current health and financial security systems.
Storm Lake, Iowa
A group of interested Iowans gathered at the Area Education Agency for an evening town hall conversation in Storm Lake. Health care insurance coverage was on the mind of all attendees, some of whom work for a local nursing facility.
A nursing home administrator presented an example of how difficult access to health care is for younger workers. She said she has tried to offer a health plan to her employees, but employees have declined the health plan, preferring a one-dollar per hour wage increase instead. She indicated that younger generations are choosing to take the risk of living without health care coverage. Others in the group pointed out that those employees without health insurance who can't afford care, will become taxpayer burdens if something happens to them.
An interesting analogy was used between the issues of health and financial security and the environment. The group agreed that reducing green house gas emissions and recycling have started to see some real public awareness and change. The question poised was, what is the turning point at which health care will change or long-term financial security will change?
Spencer, Iowa
A small but engaged group of Iowans joined in on a town hall conversation at the Spencer Senior Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Attendees talked extensively about the importance of individual responsibility with regard to civic involvement, staying healthy, making leaders accountable and making personal financial decisions.
They suggested the idea of involving all ages and all viewpoints in the discussion of the future of health care and financial security is critical to making changes to the system. They appreciated the opportunity to participate in the process, but hope that future forums will involve a wider array of interests, from business owners to medical professionals, the insurance industry, government leaders and young people.
Fort Dodge, Iowa
An evening conversation at the ISU Extension Office in Fort Dodge drew a gathering of stakeholders interested in discussing aging, health care, financial security and health insurance.
At the beginning of the conversation, attendees quickly started talking about solutions for the solvency of Social Security. A couple of the ideas included: raising the retirement age, means testing, raising payroll taxes and retraining people (retirement age) to stay in the workforce so more people are paying into the system.
The group also weighed a variety of options for making sure that all Americans are covered with basic health coverage. The group said they felt a government-run system would require too many tradeoffs. The system for health care in Massachusetts (mandatory health insurance for all) was characterized as the closest example of a system that could result in coverage for all (that actually seemed feasible). This type of shared system would require the government, employers, insurance companies and individuals to share responsibility on ensuring basic health coverage for all.
The group was in agreement that something needs to be done to ensure all Americans have access to basic, affordable health care.
Algona, Iowa
During an afternoon conversation at the Algona Public Library an engaged group of community members discussed a variety of topics surrounding health care and financial issues.
The group talked about the need to strengthen the family and education system to help fix shortfalls in savings and debts problems. They also emphasized that children need to be taught at a young age about the value of a dollar.
Participants also cited the problems of corruption in Washington, D.C., and suggested eliminating Congressional pensions to help solve the increasing national debt.
The group felt Social Security and Medicare generally work for them, but discussed the need for some changes to both systems to guarantee health care and financial stability for their children and grandchildren.
Des Moines, Iowa
Over 40 interested Iowans attended an evening conversation at Des Moines University. The conversation was attended by a variety of interested parties from the health care industry, community leaders, financial professionals and educators, among others. Divided We Fail collaborator and former Governor Terry Branstad also participated in the conversation. The group was broken into two separate conversations.
Education seemed to be a major priority for attendees at the conversation, which seemed fitting, given the location. People agreed that preventative health needs to be emphasized and financial literacy needs to be taught at a young age. There was agreement that children should learn about finances and saving in the classroom and from their parents, while adults should learn about saving and retirement options from their employers and financial services professionals.
There were a variety of ideas that were thrown around about how expand health care to cover the uninsured. One idea was to consolidate the industry, so there would be less competition and insurance pools would become larger. Another was to mandate health insurance, like auto insurance, so that employers and/or the government would take an increased role when necessary. There were also suggestions about the government “insuring” (to some extent) catastrophic health issues that would lead to financial ruin.
A common question posed was: How is the cost shared so it is fair and equal for all?
